About Me

By day, I perform strategic marketing duties for MorphoTrak (a subsidiary of Morpho, a subsidiary of Safran). By night, I manage the Empoprises blogging empire, as well as various virtual properties in Starfleet Commander and other games. Formerly known as Ontario Emperor (Ontario California, not Ontario Canada). LCMS Lutheran. Former member of Radio Shack Battery Club. Motorola Yellow Badge recipient. Top 10% of LinkedIn users.

In the spring of 1944 minor league pitcher Bert Shepard walked off a baseball diamond in England and strapped himself into the cockpit of a P-39 fighter; a few hours later a German doctor was amputing his right foot.

In the spring of 1945 Shep walked down the steps of Walter Reed Army hospital and strapped on an artificial leg; a few hours later he was pitching for the Washington Senators.

But in the long run, he wasn't good enough to stay on the field, even for the Senators. Which leads to this batting practice pitching story from 1946 (don't forget that Ted Williams was also a veteran):

In 1946 Bert was pitching batting practice again. A lefty, he raised his right leg to pitch -- and the shoe came off. He landed on his stump and followed through as though nothing had happened.

The shoe was hanging on by a few threads of his sock, and he kicked it into centerfield. Ted Williams, who knew about the foot, laughed his head off, though the Boston fans, who didn't know, sat in horror.

Shepard turned to selling typewriters for IBM, then became a safety engineer. He and his wife, Betty, married in 1953 and moved to Southern California. They lived in Hesperia for many years and divorced a few years ago.

In the spring of 1944 minor league pitcher Bert Shepard walked off a baseball diamond in England and strapped himself into the cockpit of a P-39 fighter; a few hours later a German doctor was amputing his right foot.

In the spring of 1945 Shep walked down the steps of Walter Reed Army hospital and strapped on an artificial leg; a few hours later he was pitching for the Washington Senators.

But in the long run, he wasn't good enough to stay on the field, even for the Senators. Which leads to this batting practice pitching story from 1946 (don't forget that Ted Williams was also a veteran):

In 1946 Bert was pitching batting practice again. A lefty, he raised his right leg to pitch -- and the shoe came off. He landed on his stump and followed through as though nothing had happened.

The shoe was hanging on by a few threads of his sock, and he kicked it into centerfield. Ted Williams, who knew about the foot, laughed his head off, though the Boston fans, who didn't know, sat in horror.

Shepard turned to selling typewriters for IBM, then became a safety engineer. He and his wife, Betty, married in 1953 and moved to Southern California. They lived in Hesperia for many years and divorced a few years ago.